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Social Security cleans up its act

Posted at 5:53 PM, Apr 20, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-20 22:08:36-04

Shamed into action! 

A long-ignored blight inside a government office is finally being addressed after Contact 13's Darcy Spears spotlights their failure.

Over the next few days, men visiting the Social Security office on Buffalo Drive will have to hold it if they need to use the restroom. That's because the men's room has long been the scene of a crime. 

But officials can no longer look the other way.

The "Closed for repairs" sign is keeping other signs behind closed doors, where graffiti covers the mirror, walls and stalls in the federal building where taxpayers pay the rent. 

Defacing government property is a serious crime that carries prison time, but Social Security never reported any of it to police.

"If there's something going on in your line of work, be it graffiti or somebody stealing from your company and you're sitting there watching it and you don't report it to a higher up to have it taken care of, you're just as much a part of the problem as the person doing so," said Travis Knapp, a native Las Vegan.

With Travis' help, Contact 13 broke the story last week.  He also contacted Congresswoman Dina Titus, who found the vandalized restroom beyond unacceptable.  

Our story and a call from her office turned up the heat on Social Security officials, who worked with the building owner to bring in a contractor to estimate repairs, which should happen in the next few days.

We also want to know whether anyone will be held accountable.

Will police be called in to investigate the graffiti vandals before the evidence is destroyed? We've asked, but so far, no one from Social Security will answer that question.